A deeper look into the music, mind and life of Mark Allan Wolfe

Tag Archives: composer

Well I thought I would take a few minutes to fill you all in on a few things since a lot of you have been emailing me and such to find out things, just seemed to be the best thing was to write it down and share whats going on in a mass posting. So lets dive in shall we?

I would like to start off my saying thanks to all of you who have been so kind as to offer your prayers and support for me and my family as I am recovering from surgery. A few of you knew that for a while I have been suffering in my hands with numbness and it was getting unbearable and I could not do basic things really it was really bad. On top of other health issues I was dealing with I had this to go thru which was interesting. So I am glad to report that my surgery on my RIGHT hand went according to plan. Turns out one of the problems I had was a very severe case of carpal tunnel and pinched nerves in my wrist.

As I am recovering trying to get strength back and working on my fingers and such, I will be working holistically on my left hand hopefully I will not have to have the same surgery on my left hand but if I need to I am going to go for it. I am not looking forward to it in a way because of the lack of mobility I have experienced and the strain it puts on things like family and work but you have to do what you have to do.

While I was recouperating and had the loss of my right hand pretty much I was in the studio working on mastering files for my upcoming new CD. I must say it sounds totally different from my last few but I think all musicianas say that lol Really this CD will be some what of a meditation, queit time sort of thing. I recorded several tracks a while ago and some were recorded right up till the time I went under. I had been working on this back n forth for some time and I wanted to have something to do while I was letting my hand get better.

I will be posting some more info on that CD as the release date approaches. I can tell you there are a few tracks I have pre released on my website, soudcloud and reverbnation. On that note I would like to point you to a soundcloud player that has a few NEW songs on it from the upcoming release. Srill working on some artwork and name. If you sample some songs from the player bellow and would like to share your thoughts or even a possible name for the CD let me know you never know it might jsut be the name I use, would not that be cool right on?

Ok so I also have more music being placed in a lot of cable TV series such as Barter Kings, American Pickers and NY Ink amoung others. Many being on Discovery Channel networks of whci I am VERY thankful and happy for the opportunity to place my music with them. So you never know you may have been watching some programing and heard yours truly jammin :o)

There is a LOT on the horizon that we are working on which is hard for me to talk about just at this moment until I get the clearence yet it is very exciting. I am so thankful for my sweet heart helping me in so many things I just could not do alone due to what has been happening. So if you have written me and wondered why I was taking so long to get back to you hopefully this blog posting helps explain why.

FInally I would like to share with you that I will be adding a few new tools to the blogs and the websites where it is easier to download the songs and help share. Been making some wonderful connections and partnerships and collaborations with people all over the globe . So if you are wanting to collaborate or network perhaps join in the fun some how or way just email me or give me a shout when ever you can.

I leave you with the message I give to all my friends, hang in there life gets better, if your in a bind be of good courage THIS TOO SHALL PASS right on? so keep on making music, keep on making love and do the right thing and all shall work out .

Acoustic guitar require a rather different approach from electric guitars. For example when recording an acoustic you rarely would send it thru an amp. A much more common way would be to run the signal through a DI box, Mic or both

One thing that makes the acoustic guitar different from the electric is the character of the sound starts with the source. It maybe plain and obvious but it is the reason why when recording the acoustic you do not throw it through an amp for it tends to sound artificial.

From the strumming, the picking of the strings, the air floating in and out of the sound hole, the type of strings even the pick all help to create the sound even the wood which is probably the most important but that is another discussion all together. It is better for you to take the time and experiment with the placements of the mic’s then trying to figure that you will fix it in the mix.

Some cool things you can do to try to capture the essence of the acoustic guitar in recording would be as follows. Start by investing in new strings! Take care to set the action and tuning right for your guitar. If you are trying to capture a great rhythm or strumming groove to make a main music bed, try using a thinner pick. If you want to capture the guitar solo or lead use a thicker pick.

Audio-Technica AT3031

When you are ready to record the guitar, start by placing the microphone close to the sound hole. A small diaphragm condenser is ideal, such as Audio-Technica’s AT3031 or a studio condenser like RodenNT1-A both are excellent and fairly affordable choices and will work well in working in recording other instruments as well as vocals.

Place a mic around 16 inches or so (40cm) from the guitar, aiming it towards where the neck joins the body. It usually gets you a full bodied sound. It will capture some of the dynamics coming from the sound hole but yet will also pick up the sounds evolving else where from the guitar.

Rode NT1-A

What I would suggest is moving it around to find that sweet spot. If you move up the neck you tend to get higher frequencies lower towards the body emphasizes lower frequencies. You will want to experiment for the dynamics of the room your in, placement of the microphones, strings all the stuff just mentioned will depend on the tone you capture.

If you are able and have the finances to I would get two microphones set up. Set one up on the sound hole and another directional microphone aimed at the neck near where your hands play. You will capture separate styles and tones when balanced right will actually bring out the best. You can also place the one microphone in front of the sound hole and another one down deep below the body of the guitar which will emphasize the deep tpnes as well. All I can say is experiment to find out what works best.

The greatest thing is nothing you will be considered strange I have set up my amp in the closet of my apartment and placed a mic in front of it, ran the chord all the way down the hall into where I was playing. I had all kinds of clothes hanging in there. The clothes acted like sound proofing in a way. A poor mans version lol. It isolated the tones and you did not hear the fret buzzing or any other oddities. I also placed an amp in my shower stall,(remember to not turn the water on!) the tile in the bathroom acted like a natural reverb of sorts.

Something I have been experimenting as of late has been combining a DI signal (from a DIRECT BOX) as well as including the several different mic placements. When you mix them all together in the mixing portion you can find a nice balance between the both to create a sonic palette that may just be what you are looking for.

I hope some of these ideas may help you out in your quest in finding that all illusive number one hit. One thing I cannot stress enough is you are only limited at times by your own imagination. Just because some producer or famous engineer has not thought of it first does not mean it cannot work for you. The greatest thing in making music is YOU are the painter that is holding the brush on the mind of your listeners.

Acoustic guitar mic placement ideas

Big body, big bottom. You’ll get your low-end (as well as boomy, so be careful) and a general warmth of the wood in this area well behind the bridge, but not too close to the edge. The clarity of all the notes are not as… clear… here, however, so don’t rely on it to get everything you need. Try placing your mic off axis to decrease the proximity effect of the cardioid microphone.

Twang between bridge and sound hole. Closer to higher strings for more of the brightness. The string sound here is tight and twangy. Off axis will slightly decrease the harshness, as well as pulling it further away by inches. There’s a “solid” sound to the wood as well in this area. If you lower the mic below the strings so it’s approaching the edge where the guitar starts to narrow you’ll get less string twang and more of the “tight” sounding wood tone.

Sound hole balance. Angling down towards the lower strings (again, angled of off axis to help control any boom from close mic’ing). You should get a fairly balanced high to low tone here, but depending on the guitar will lose some of the high-mids.

Bony Shoulders. I’m sure you’ve tapped and slapped the wood at various places on acoustic guitars. Start there to help understand what the sound will be like placing a microphone at position four. The wood is tense and there’s not a lot of space for it to resonate and release, so it’s got some tight mids and a solid woody tone. Of course, being close to the strings and neck, you’ll get a decent amount of pick attack as well.

12 fret subtle and smooth harmonics. Great place for a small diaphragm mic, angled inward to get a balanced string tone with all of the complimentary harmonics from the string vibrations at that position. If you EQ out some of the more harsh (1-3k) attach sounds, you can get some good sounds here that balance with any other mic placement on the body.

“over the shoulder” as a possible microphone placement

A cool link to find some other interesting ideas as well as some test and sound samples of various other microphones and placements that you might find helpful in other areas. I do not know much about the website but I found this page to be a great resource and thought heck you might as well if you came this far your into what I am trying to share with you and your a pretty serious dude or dudet. Check it out here.

There are many ways to help advance your career if you want to. Many people are waiting for OTHERS to do it for them but the truth is NO ONE CARES more about YOUR music than YOU! I cannot begin to tell you about how many artist and bands approach me wanting to be FAMOUS or what ever but are doing absolutely NOTHING about trying to achieve their goals.

I wanted to maybe share a few ideas that may help you in your endeavors.

SET GOALS

To earn a good living in the music industry, you MUST develop a specific plan for how you will reach your goals. If you merely fantasize about making a lot of money, this is not enough to make this goal a reality. Rather than fantasizing, start working toward what you want to achieve by asking yourself the following questions:

What are you doing to build your music career?

What are you wanting out of your musical career ?

Who are you surrounding yourself with ?

Where do you see yourself in 5 yrs? of 2 yrs? even in 6 months?

How are your going to get to where you want to be?

After you have figured out your answers for each question above, you must focus on making every action you take in your music career go toward achieving the exact goals you have made for yourself.

Most musicians looking to become successful in the music business are not sure what they must do to reach their desired goals. If you are experiencing this as well, the best solution to this problem is to seek out training from a professional who has shown other musicians how to earn a lot of money in their careers. This way, you can avoid making mistakes that will cost you significant time and effort to fix.

If you are looking for information on how to start your journey, or looking for help to build upon that which you have already started, then I would ask you to please send me an email with some info about yourself and maybe I can help.

I will write more in the days to come in the mean time take some time to think about and answer the questions about. The answer may surprise you. A lot of people just say, ” I am going to be a big star, make all kinds of money” but they do not know how to accomplish this, or who to have help them. I may not have all your answers but I feel I can help you in your journey.

Here are a few more ideas I wanted to share with all of you. I have been thinking about all the people and composers out there who reach out to me and ask a lot of questions, so I wanted to share a few things that have helped me a long the way.

I also want to let you know I do these very things also so I am not above anything here. I really believe it. If you want it you need to go get it and work hard, NO ONE will give it to you. For starters it’s really worth while doing some research on your possible clients or potential music supervisors or film makers – looking at their previous jobs and the styles they usually work with. I find that one good place to start your search is Linked In – which also helps you see where people move to when they change jobs.

Spirit of Rock-Mark Allan Wolfe

Remember that there are hundreds of other composers out there all trying to get work – what is your unique angle/what will get you remembered? What is your sound like? Did you send something unusual in the mail? did you make a funny making of video for one of your tracks – try and stand out. Marketing yourself should take at least 50% of your time…Remember NO ONE ELSE WILL!!

Do some market research before you start sending examples of your work around. Try and find out who you need to send you work to and what kind of thing they are looking for and what format they want to see it on, eg DVD, an internet link or whatever.

If you do it and try your best and faint not it will come to pass. It may take a while but if you do it and have the chops and determination eventually people will listen. It may take a long time before you are financially self sufficient to compose full time. You may have to supplement your income with other types of musical work. However if you have talent and determination it can be one of the best jobs in the world.

Feel free to share this and network with me and sign up or follow me on twitter, facebook or where ever. You never know who is listening and watching or when someone will call asking for your style of music.

This is a NEW Cd cover for my latest project emphasizing on guitar electronic progressive Rock vibe with a twist. Very rocking and ready to go.

The picture is a collage of sorts from past CD releases and videos I have made. There is the logo of markallanwolfe.com with the dragons and guitar with wings. With the title “Divine Inspiration” I took that with the mixture of the “SPIRIT of ROCK” which is the guitar with wings, the golden Paul Reed Smith (PRS). They are on the monument behind as a testimony that I believe all my music is divinely inspired meaning that I believe in GOD and that all good things come from him. That is my personal thoughts and you do not have to subscribe to that but it is cool if you do not.

Then there is the LION statue, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, which represents to me JESUS Christ, the Messiah. Both the lion and the monument refer to the stability of ROCK and the strength of the trinity and how eternal truth is SOLID.

The shield he is holding up is the other logo the SPIRIT of ROCK or music. The statue and the monument both really were taken when I went to Savannah , Georgia it was at some park that I thought was really cool so if you know were it is you will say “Dude I know where that is” lol

The statue is really of Jame Edwards Oglethorpe info of the statue can be found here I liked the statue for a lot of reasons and made it my own in some ways but it is really interesting on what he did if you’re not familiar he was the main dude responsible for founding the State of Georgia.
LEARN how to LICENSE the MUSIC of Mark Allan Wolfe

The first spirit of ROCK I created to make look like it was behind a glass window I thought was good and a bit different. I was trying to show how our perceptions of how we see things are very fragile and our perceptions of reality can be easily altered or changed and become dirty. Also I liked the guitar having freedom, (which is a song of mine) but how music is free it can mean many things to different people.

Then you have of course the split face of yours truly again. You need to see who I am maybe you don’t but I thought it looked cool almost mysterious, for those of you who really KNOW me are laughing for I am a mystery lol I say this in utmost humility.

Then finally the sky which comes from the first real logo I created of the wolf in the sky and GOD;s all-seeing eye, not to be mistaken with the EYE of Horus. So all of you conspiracy nuts like myself will not think I am a part of the new world order.

There you have it a little more info on what lies behind the artwork and upcoming music from my spirit, heart and mind. I thought it would be a little interesting if not give you something to laugh at or ponder when listening. I believe music is an art form and there are many facets to music such as a diamond or jewel if we would take a moment to really listen to what the artist is trying to convey we may see it other than hear it.

Well I was wanting to share a few new videos I made and created recently. I do hope you enjoy them. The songs are a few years old but the videos are new.These songs have meant a lot to me over the years. I had a lot of fun creating the music and recording them. There is a story behind each one but I guess if your interested I can always tell the story just email me and ask me to share what is behind the songs if your interested.
The song first is LOVE SONG a vocal song I wrote for my wife and I hope you like the music as well as the lyrics. On this track is my vocals and I also played all the instruments as well.

The second song is called PEACE. A song created about 10 years ago I recorded it in a small studio in southern Indiana. Again I performed all the music and arranged everything. This song has special meaning to my heart as well many different emotions going thru the head during the creation of it. I remember it was spring and the the trees where bursting with green and bird where singing there songs of love hence it was a very magical time yet inwardly I was a mess. So enjoy it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95F2E0augII&w=420&h=315]

So here you are pressing onwards so to say. You have created all sorts of music designed the CD’s, got tours lined up or at least some gigs even if they are just playing parties for the time being. None the less you got something going. You have a dream, a desire to share your music with the whole world, yet you do not know where to start. Perhaps you do know where to start yet you have been plugging away for it for some degree or been climbing the hill for years. THIS IS FOR YOU!!

There is this certain type of bamboo that grows deep in the heart of China and it takes like five- six years to even start to grow but when it does it grows like 90′ ft with in like 6 months! Consider the farmer who plants his crops and does everything he does and needs to for a crop to grow. He has NO idea that things will come about, yet he tries and continues to do what he does for hopes that He will eventually reap a harvest.

You need to have the same attitude, that no matter what you will climb this mountain. You will succeed in your efforts WHAT EVER THEY MAY BE!! No matter if you are trying to get some where in business, make a name for yourself in the music business or in life. You may be trying to deal with something that has kept you down for years and you try and try only to not see anything. For all you know right after the next hill, the next day the next swing your answers will come!

I wanted to just drop you a note of encouragement and give you a little hope for your heart. You need to believe in something so why not believe for the best. It is what keeps you going? To many people failing at something over a 100 times you might begin to think something is impossible. After 150 times you might seriously doubt your sanity and question your motives, yet you would not even think perhaps of trying 200 times, well someone did they pursued with something for nearly 999 times actually on the 100th time BOOM!! the perfect filament for the light bulb was found.http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/19/tuneWidget.swf?twID=artist_382803&posted_by=artist_382803&shuffle=&autoPlay=false&blogBuzz=buzz

Well if your trying faint not, if your at least trying to get where you are your doing something. Never give up and never surrender, you never know who is counting on you and how you will change the world or those around you.

Check out some great new music an also listen to some more music that is available at IMRADIO grab this widget for your blog or website it you need music.
Also give a listen to the new heavy guitar jam by MARK ALLAN WOLFE called “Lost in the SON” a heavy guitar rock song. The radio station has a bout 50-60 songs in a small variety of rock,pop and smooth jazz songs but all of them are great. If your interested in learning more about it then give us a shout.

If your an artist or a band looking for placement opportunity’s than also give a listen and or visit www.wolfiesmusicpublishing.com we are always looking to expand our data base of songs for FILM,TV and WEB advertisements.

Nice little groove for extreme sports or action scene. Just thought you would maybe like to see one of my soundcloud pages and listen to some music that is not yet available anywhere else. For mor info please visit www.markallanwolfe.com and send me an email

I recently created this song over the Holiday weekend and thought you might enjoy it. Please feel free to comment on it, share it and let me know and others what you thought about it. It is basically an acoustic melody based around a child soloist and choir. Very relaxing and mellow yet deep and moving.

For more please visit my website at www.markallanwolfe.com for more info and music.